random samplings of a restless mind scanning life's canopy
One positive development during this recession may be the rediscovery of vegetable gardening and farming by urban dwellers in the US, a country notorious for a populace that has largely lost touch with the sources of its food (no thanks to the food industry), and consequently has developed a rather unhealthy relationship with it. I've certainly noticed a growth in urban agriculture and horticulture here in Fresno, and am hoping our studies will provide more data on how people may be changing the ways they relate to the land they live on even in the midst of city and suburbia, and may be seeing it as a source of food.
And if you are still trying to figure out where your food comes from, and the biodiversity it contains, this is a good way to ease that nagging ecological consciousness: simply turn your lawn into an urban farm, harvest your own food, and participate in the community that your efforts may draw to you. We have certainly found the latter in our own modest horticultural efforts this year, which has fostered much sharing of produce among friends and neighbors who are also similarly farming, and cut down our visits to the produce aisles of the grocery stores. I know it is not easy to do everywhere—we're lucky to be in central California, which is already a major agricultural region—but I know friends in the upper midwest and even Canada who make the most of their short summers to grow and store produce for the long winters as well. Here, via the Grist blog Feeding the City, is an example of how one man is converting the urban lawnscape into an edible one in Seattle.
I'm a reconciliation ecologist studying the responses of wildlife to human influences through an evolutionary lens. I seek ways to apply evolutionary ecology towards reconciling biodiversity conservation with human development. Also a father of two girls; photographer; birdwatcher; bookworm; cinephile; and explorer of the internets.
I'm a reconciliation ecologist studying the responses of wildlife to human influences through an evolutionary lens. I seek ways to apply evolutionary ecology towards reconciling biodiversity conservation with human development. Also a father of two girls; photographer; birdwatcher; bookworm; cinephile; and explorer of the internets.
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